UK Member of Parliament Bob Blackman expressed concern over what he perceives as biased reporting by the British media, particularly the BBC, regarding the opening of the Ram Mandir. Speaking in the UK parliament on Friday, Blackman highlighted the significance of the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, as a moment of great joy for Hindus worldwide.
Blackman criticised the BBC's coverage, noting that it emphasised the site as the location of a mosque's destruction while neglecting its history as a temple for over 2000 years prior to that event. He also mentioned that Muslims were allocated a five-acre site nearby to build a mosque.
The MP called on other parliament members to support a debate in government time concerning the impartiality of the BBC and its alleged failure to provide accurate coverage of global events.
The criticism of BBC’s coverage of the monumental event was seen across the diaspora as many wrote letters to the outfit expressing their displeasure. National Council of Gujarati Organisations(NCGO) UK in their letter to BBC wrote- “We are extremely disappointed and outraged at the BBC's egregiously biased reporting on Ram Mandir in the past few weeks. We are fully aware of the BBC's history of biased reporting on India, and it's high time that the corporation acknowledges India's remarkable progress as a democratic country that has made tremendous strides in science and technology.”
“The corporation must accept its responsibility and take corrective measures to maintain its credibility and integrity. We urge the BBC to take our request seriously and provide fair and impartial news coverage of India. We will not tolerate any further biased reporting on India, and we will take all necessary steps to ensure that the BBC is held accountable for its actions”, the letter further read.”
Responding to the many complaints about the coverage, BBC responded, “We believe that to be a fair and accurate account of what happened. We also mentioned that “many Hindus believe the Babri mosque was built by Muslim invaders on the ruins of a temple where the Hindu god (Ram) was born” and we provided more context, reporting on the 2019 Indian Supreme Court judgement which gave the disputed land to Hindus, who form 80% of India’s population.”
“We do not agree that the article was demeaning to Hindus. Quoting Mr Modi who said it was a “historic occasion”, we reported on the ceremony and on the celebrations in India and in other countries too.”
Asian Voice columnist Kapil Dudkia, in this week’s Kapil’s Khichdi, called out BBC to be a bogus broadcasting corporation and its biased reporting of India. He writes, “Over the past two decades it has become increasingly clear that the BBC has failed in its primary duty of being an independent national broadcaster...”
“BBC has failed in its duty by exhibiting a bias against various groups. The Jewish community has already provided you with ample evidence of how the BBC has shown its bias against them. Similarly, there is now incontestable evidence that the BBC has become a bastion for those politically on the left, and those who subscribe to what is known as ‘woke’ and/or ‘politically correct’ narratives.”
